Washington Security Freeze Process

Consumers may place a "security freeze" on their credit reports, which will prohibit us from releasing any information in their credit reports without their express authorization, except to those with whom the consumer has an existing account or a collection agency acting on behalf of the existing account, for purposes of reviewing (account maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases and account upgrades and enhancements) or collecting the account. If you place a security freeze on your credit report, your information also may be used for the purposes of prescreening as provided for by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, even if a security freeze is on the report. A security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent; however, using a security freeze may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent requests or applications regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, insurance, government services or payments, rental housing, employment, investment, license, cellular phone, utilities, digital signature, Internet credit card transaction, or other services, including an extension of credit at point of sale.

The fee for placing a security freeze on a credit report is $10.95. If you are 65 years of age or older or a victim of identity theft and submit a valid investigative or incident report, complaint with a law enforcement agency or the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the fee will be waived. To request a security freeze, log on to www.experian.com/freeze or send all of the requested information via certified, overnight or regular mail to Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013. Overnight mail should be submitted to Experian, 711 Experian Parkway, Allen, TX 75013. Include your full name, with middle initial and generation, such as JR, SR, II, III, etc.; Social Security number; date of birth (month, day and year); current address and previous addresses for the past two years; and $10.95 fee or a valid investigative or incident report or complaint with a law enforcement agency or the DMV or indicate that you are 65 years of age or older. In addition, enclose one copy of a government issued identification card, such as a driver's license, state ID card, etc., and one copy of a utility bill, bank or insurance statement, etc. Make sure that each copy is legible (enlarge if necessary), displays your name and current mailing address, and the date of issue (statement dates must be recent). We are unable to accept credit card statements, voided checks, lease agreements, magazine subscriptions or postal service forwarding orders as proof. To protect your personal identification information, Experian does not return correspondence sent to us. Copies of any documents should be sent, and you should always retain your original documents.

We will send you a confirmation notice once the security freeze has been added, and you will be given a personal identification number (PIN) that will be required in order to remove the freeze temporarily (in order to apply for credit or for any transaction that requires that another party access your personal credit report) or permanently.

To temporarily remove a security freeze for a period of time in order to apply for credit or for any transaction that requires that another party access your personal credit report, log on to www.experian.com/freeze or call 1 888 EXPERIAN (1 888 397 3742), then enter your identification information and PIN. The fee for temporarily removing a security freeze is $10.95. There is no fee for victims of identity theft who provide a valid copy of an identity theft report filed with a law enforcement agency. To temporarily remove a security freeze for a specific party, provide your PIN to the party you wish to grant access to your report.

To permanently remove a security freeze, log on to www.experian.com/freeze or call 1 888 EXPERIAN (1 888 397 3742). You also may write to us and provide your identification information and PIN. If you write to us, always include a copy of your personal identification information and proof of your address as specified in this letter. The fee for permanently removing a security freeze is $10.95. There is no fee for victims of identity theft who provide a valid copy of an identity theft report filed with a law enforcement agency. Mail the requested information and payment to the address above.

If you move to a new address and wish to keep the security freeze on your file, submit your request in writing and include all of your personal identification information and proof of your new address as specified in this letter.

Acceptable forms of payment to place or remove a security freeze are credit card, check and money order. If you submit your credit card information by mail, be sure to include the name exactly as it is displayed on the card, the credit card type, the credit card number and the expiration date. Accepted credit cards are American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard and VISA.

Experian and the Experian marks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.